


i’ll climb your walls like morning-glories (such sweet destruction)

by OceanMyth



Series: Ocean's ATLA Drabbles, Oneshots, and Ficlets [27]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, F/F, Pining, Pre-Canon, invading your intensely private friend's privacy doesn't go well, let that be a warning, zuko's mentioned i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:02:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28819686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceanMyth/pseuds/OceanMyth
Summary: Ty Lee has two bad habits. She would rather climb in through a window than use the door, and she has a little too much curiosity for her own good. Together, these get her in trouble.
Relationships: Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar) (onesided), Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Ocean's ATLA Drabbles, Oneshots, and Ficlets [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113209
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	i’ll climb your walls like morning-glories (such sweet destruction)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [foxy_knowledgeseeker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxy_knowledgeseeker/gifts).



“Ty Lee, I thought I told you not to come up here that way.” 

Mai’s drawl makes Ty Lee jump guiltily. She should have noticed Mai come in— the other girl hadn’t really been subtle about it. She hastily shoves all the papers she’d been reading into the box in front of her and closes it. 

Mai is barely visible in the doorway, her dark clothes blending into the shadows behind her. All Ty Lee can make out is the pale gleam of her face and slender neck, and the gold-amber of her eyes. She bites the inside of her lower lip, and tries to act natural.

“But that’s no fun!” Ty Lee hopes that her exaggerated pout will distract Mai from the box. She knows the hope will be futile in the end, but that doesn’t make her any less committed. 

“Yeah, and it’s no fun when my parents scold me for hanging out with someone so undignified either, so just come up the normal way next time.” Mai’s sarcastic retort is half hearted at best, and she uncrosses her arms before stepping into the room. Her eyes are smiling, even if the rest of her face is still and emotionless.

She comes a scant five steps, before stopping short.

The smile in her eyes is gone.

“Is that my diary?” Mai’s voice is quiet. 

Ty Lee swallows, and twists the end of her braid in her hands. She doesn’t have the courage to do anything but nod. Mai’s expression doesn’t change much, but the edge of her lips have tilted down, and it's quiet enough in the room that Ty Lee can hear the sharp inhale.

“Get out.” 

Ty Lee is moving then, as fast as she’s ever moved before, scrambling to the window and slipping out as gentle and quiet as a cold breeze, the kind that runs down the back of your neck when you’ve realized you’ve lost something. 

She knows where she’s no longer welcome.

After putting her feet back on the ground, Ty Lee glances back up at the window. The last thing she sees is Mai’s betrayed face, as she pulls the curtains closed. 

Ty Lee kicks a nearby rock, and tries to stop the tears that are prickling in her eyes. She knows that what she’d done is— it was awful of her, but she’d seen the edge of the pretty dark wood box peeking out at her from underneath Mai’s bed, and she’s always been a little too curious for her own good.

There hadn’t actually been too much of interest in the assorted papers— or at least the ones that Ty Lee had the time to read, but the delicately dried flowers layered among the parchment had told her all she needed to know. There is only one person Ty Lee knows who has given Mai flowers, and to see them laid out so  _ tenderly  _ by her best friend makes her ache.

Ty Lee stares up at the window. She doesn’t know if she can even consider Mai a friend anymore, but she does know that the burning jealousy of Zuko she has under her skin won’t be going away any time soon.

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be happy and fluffy, I swear
> 
> yell at me in the comments or on tumblr @justoceanmyth.


End file.
